Letter to myself: Life is pain

Dear younger me,

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news

but it's going to get way worse

before it gets better.

Sorry to tell you this but

it's the way of the Universe

to constantly test you, trick you

and almost break you

so that you can be reborn

again and again from all of the pain.

Here's the deal - life is mostly pain

but it's pain with a purpose.

The main thing is...don't give up because

while nobody is happy all of the time,

there are those beautiful, fleeting moments,

flashes of happiness, joy, euphoria even

which make most of the pain worthwhile.

Seek out simple pleasures - a good meal, a view, a flower,

birds, laughter, swimming in the sea and

these will surely carve a furrow

through your mind just as water does

through the hardest rock such that

even when the water is gone,

the impressions remain and can be recalled, remembered.

You're going to get sick, really sick and

you'll have to work really hard to remember

what it was like to feel well,

when you could run, jump and ride a bike.

But try not to despair and if you do, it's OK -

sit with it, challenge it, don't hide from it and

never ever try to run from it, you can't.

Your mind is your best and closest friend and

your worst and most vicous enemy

sometimes at the same time.

It really doesn't care about what makes you happy,

it just wants you to stay safe.

To stay in a holding pattern because

new things are scary and dangerous.

This is why you have to do them anyway and

override your mind's factory settings

to keep you cocooned and comfortable.

Because new experiences are often overwhelmingly good

and build confidence to keep growing and learning.

Your dreams will come true and even if they don't,

nobody can ever accuse you of not trying hard enough.

I'm so very proud of you and I throw virtual arms

back through time to sweep you up into

the most loving embrace

but only for a moment because you've got places to be.

Sincerely, older me.